Tag Archives: Garden

Garden Ornaments

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Article by Garden 4less

A garden is defined as a planned space, usually outside, that is set aside for the display, cultivation and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. There are many uses for your average household garden which range from entertaining to quietly enjoying the natural surroundings. In our opinion a garden should be an extension of your home. A house wouldn’t be a home without adding your own personal touches to the decor and furniture much like an outdoor space wouldn’t be a homely garden without adding items that represent your own individual style.Garden ornaments are a fabulous way of adding some of your personality to your garden design and the vast choice of garden statues means that you can create your own personalised haven. The most popular garden ornaments are garden animals, Garden 4 Less have searched high and low to find the best range of garden ornaments, garden statues and garden gnomes to bring your garden to life.Creating your own bespoke garden couldn’t be easier with Happy Henry Hippo, one of the happiest hippos you will ever see this garden ornament will welcome any visitor to your garden. Or create a whimsical garden theme with cherub garden statues and sleeping pixies delicately crafted out of stone. Some people prefer gardens to be a hub for nature with birds visiting alongside other garden creatures. Bird baths are the perfect accompaniment to any nature focused garden and will have birds flocking to visit. Bird baths are now available as garden ornaments which are perfect to personalise your outside space.Garden Gnomes add an element of fun to any garden and also make the ideal gift as a single garden gnome can some up anyone’s personality. If you have a hobby or your loved one has an interest choose from golfing, building, cricketing or painting garden gnomes to add a splash of colour to your garden.Garden 4 Less offer huge savings on garden ornaments, garden statues and garden gnomes allowing you to choose a selection of designs to transform even the most tired of gardens into a magical and enticing space. Take a look at the full range and grab yours in time to make over your garden in time for summer.

About the Author

Garden4less.co.ukAlthea, Wellington Park,Wellington Road,Burton On Trent,Staffordshire,DE14 2TG,

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Image Garden Tour by Abby Lanes

Jumpstart The Spring Garden – Gardening Tips For March & April

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Article by John Conti

Snowdrops stand guard over tiny daffodil buds. Daylight is lingering a bit longer. The snow is receding and the robins are returning. The big thaw has begun. There’s no denying the signs. Spring is right around the corner.

If you’re like me, you can’t wait to get your hands into the soil. While you’re holding out for higher temperatures, there’s plenty you can do today to jumpstart the spring gardening season.

Sow Seeds Indoors

Take a trip to your local nursery or home store and buy seeds to start indoors.In March I like to start annual flowers for my pots and containers. Currently, I have Coleus, Zinnias,Impatiens, Petunias and Marigolds germinating. Follow the seed packet instructions and you’ll get excellentresults. Some plants will take longer than others to bloom or bear fruit, so plan accordingly. This is also a great time for starting culinary herbs and vegetables. If you’re looking for something new this year, try moonflower vine or cathedral bells to climb your fence or trellis. Both can be started from seed. If you have children, get them involved. Many children have a natural affinity for gardening. It’s a great quality to encourage and nurture in them.

Dust Off The Birdhouses

I put my birdhouses out in early March. Small birds like chickadees will be actively searching for appropriate homes to raise their families. Mine were up for less than 24 hours before the home tours began.

Give Your Garden Tools A Checkup

Take your pruning shears and other cutting tools to your local hardware store for cleaning, oiling and a good sharpening. On a warm day you may want to assess your lawnmower. Take it in for servicing or a tune up now-while you can. Many lawnmower repair centers are swamped shortly after the season starts. It’s one tool you don’t want to be without.

Get Inspired

Order your garden catalogs. Purchase your favorite garden magazines. Here in the northeast, there’s nothing like winter time to remind me how valuable my summer garden space is. Create a wish list of new plants, design features and outdoor furniture. With a little planning, you won’t be overwhelmed when May rolls around.

Seek Out Indoor Gardening Events

In March there are countless indoor garden, flower and landscaping expos. If you can’t find anything in your local area, a day or weekend trip to a flower show might be just what you need. Look for a botanical garden or arboretum with indoor facilities. In my area we have Longwood Gardens. It has year round indoor gardens and the displays are fantastic.

Clean Out Your Beds

As soon as the snow has melted and the weather permits, you can clean out your beds. It’s a good time to rake and clear your planting areas of dead branches, leaves and debris. I like to mulch as soon as possible in the spring, while there’s still plenty of space between the emerging bedding plants.

Learn A Landscape Design Software Program

There are so many inexpensive landscaping software programs available today, many of them under .00US. During the winter months you’ll have plenty of time to learn how to operate the system.Create and sample new designs before digging. Take advantage of the overhead and 360 degree views. Many of the programs now offer a 3D walk through feature. It simulates the experience of walking through an actual garden. You can also advance the garden timeline into the future to see what it will look like when the plants and trees mature. It’s a wonderful creative tool to beat the winter blues!

Call Your Landscaper Now

If you’re planning to use a professional landscaper this year, make sure to schedule your work as far in advance as possible. When the ground is soft enough for digging, landscapers will be working overtime to keep up with the volume.

Book Your Garden Tours Now

Scour the internet for local and regional garden tours. Find out when tickets go on sale and plan ahead.I’ve often read announcement lists in the newspaper after I’ve already made other plans. There’s nothing likevisiting other people’s gardens for encouragement and inspiration.

I hope these suggestions get you motivated to take action. The sooner you get started on your garden plans-the more time you’ll have to enjoy the rest of the season. Happy Gardening!

© 2007 John Conti

About the Author

John Conti is a landscaper and publisher of http://Stellasyard.com | The Soulful Garden. Visit his web site for how to articles, advice and free design plans. Beginners are welcome.http://stellasyard.com

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Image Spring garden swap sent by nifwlseirff

Growing a Garden – Gardening Trends

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Growing a Garden – Gardening Trends

Article by Jan Love

Growing a Garden – Gardening Trends

A trend can be like fashion. This year’s “in” color can be next year’s charity shop special.

Trends can sometimes have more substance, like the classic litte black dress, that never goes out of style.

As folk are spending more time at home we’re beginning to see the re- emergence of trends such as home baking and making our own preserves.

It’s easy to see this trend has had a flow on effect into gardening. Having your own fruit and vegetable garden has become so popular even Michelle Obama is doing it! The White House now has a food garden, something that hasn’t happened in more that five decades!

As people are spending more time actually “living” in their homes and sections another facet of “nurturing” has come to light – the landscape around the section. A short time ago people were very “now” driven and looked for “quick fixes” and static designs. This was probably due to the need to see immediate results since the assumption was that the house would be sold in a few years.

People were also doing a lot of travel and other away from home activities, so they wanted a ready made, plant and walk away garden. These days people are spending more time actually living in their homes and they’re starting to see gardening as an activity not just a piece of art on the wall.

They’re experimenting with fresh things, learning from their good and bad experiences and are coming to accept a more long-term return for their efforts. In doing so, they’re coming to accept a more long term return for their efforts.

As a result of this more “nurturing gardening” approach, people are starting to see that their “quick fix” planting escapades of prior years have unfortunately been over planted and may now have to be ripped up. For instance, it may look good “right now” to plant a bunch of flaxes close together, however give it a few months and once they start to grow they will begin to look unruly and un kept. They’ll eventually have to be pulled out. You should plant a garden thinking of what it will grow into, not what it looks like immediately.

The most imperative thing is designing a landscape to suit the owners style. It’s also beneficial to get the owners involved in their own gardens.

If you’re deciding whether to start improving your garden there’s no better time to start than now. As a side note, make sure you get good advice from a reputable garden center or nursery, these people work with, care for and love plants day in day out, you won’t get any more qualified advice from anywhere else.

Get stuck in today – Growing your own garden is so rewarding!

About the Author

For more advice on how to grow a great garden. Visit my How to Grow a Vegetable Garden website.

Unique Garden Planters – Outdoor Decorating w/Container Gardening & Garden Planters

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Article by glenn mast

Container Gardening and Garden planters are a warm and inviting way to add interest to your outdoor decorating spaces. You can spruce up your outdoor living spaces by adding decorative planters that give your plants “pop”! Let’s face it, outdoor decorating is “in” right now – it is the hottest design trend going. There are diverse ways you can add your own personality to your outdoor design space. One of the easiest is to use decorative planters for your garden.

With more and more people spending time indoors working, the desire to return to the outdoors has really hit big. Even if you live in the city, you can bring the outdoors to your home with garden planters or may be a nice trellis or a set of wind chimes! Yesterday’s plastic industrial flower pots have given way to the beautiful and practical decorative planters of today. So thinking big, is not out of line when you think outdoor decorating. You can have style and functionality in something as practical as outdoor flower, plants, herb and vegetable pots!

CONTAINER GARDENING: More and more people are enjoying the benefits and joys of container gardening. You can have the pleasure of growing your own herbs or food in vegetable planters. There is no doubt in where your food came from or how it was grown when you produce it yourself in garden planters. Control of soil and soil type is one of the first realized benefits. Plants can be rearranged for optimal sun exposure. Lightweight vegetable planters can be easily moved indoors or under cover during sudden rainstorms. Garden planters give the added benefit of your organic gardening when you arrange them to repel insects or cross pollinate.

AESTHETIC APPEAL: Garden planters can add aesthetic appeal to your patio or poolside area. When you use decorative planters to grow your vegetables, plants and flowers, you can mix and match the potted plants for beauty as well as functionality. Tomato plants look exotic in outdoor urns; red peppers are almost whimsical in decorative planters. Your guests will probably not even notice that your outdoor garden decor is so practical. The lightweight nature of some outdoor planter pots makes it easy to avoid a late frost by bringing your potted plants under cover. Tho the plastic pots of yesterday are still available: beautifying your garden using decorative wooden vegetable planters gives it more of natural look!

CONTAINER INVADERS: When you grow your produce in wooden planters, weed control is much easier. By starting out with container soil, you eliminate unwanted seeds from the beginning. Some travel in the air or by birds, but pulling those unwanted weeds out of outdoor planter pots is much easier than pulling weeds out of beds, and your back will love it too. If one of your vegetable planters has some weeds in it, chances are your other vegetable planters won’t since it is harder for weeds to travel across outdoor planter pots. Mint and rosemary are examples of herbs that will easily take over a garden plot, but can be controlled and managed if grown in vegetable planters

About the Author

Having been raised up in a Amish Family until my teenage years. I have the knowledge, and interest in the community, and the products that the Amish produce. http://www.amishhandcraftedmetalwindchimes.comhttp://www.amishbuiltlawndecor.com

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